If your move date is approaching, you and your family are probably packing everything you need to bring to your new home. As you prepare for your relocation, it’s important to remember that professional movers won’t move every type of item. If you pack something especially valuable or that can be dangerous in a collision, your moving company might refuse your shipment.
Thankfully, there are only a few things moving companies won’t move. Familiarize yourself with some of the most common things local and long-distance movers won’t move to ensure a hassle-free and safe moving day.
What Common Household Items Will Movers Not Move?
The following are some everyday items that your movers might refuse to pack in your moving truck. Planning alternatives for the following items before moving day is best to avoid loading delays.
Hazardous Materials
Movers will not transport any hazardous items that could lead to team members getting hurt. For example, aerosol cans may explode when exposed to fire, potentially turning a fender bender into a deadly situation. Some common household items moving companies won’t move include:
- Fire extinguishers
- Spray paint
- Nail polish remover
- Paint thinners
- Cleaning products
Each moving company has its own list of items it will not move, and the items considered hazardous might vary between providers. For example, although many moving companies require you to toss cleaning products before loading your shipment, some movers may be willing to transport these items if they don’t contain harsh chemicals.
Ask your moving company for a complete list of dangerous items you cannot move. This will speed up the moving process and ensure you and your moving team are safe.
Plants
Moving companies may refuse to move live plants, especially interstate movers, as pests can easily attach to houseplants and move along with you unnoticed. This means that houseplants have the potential to bring local pests to different states, which can be harmful to the environment.
Further, some gardeners use specialized weed killers and fertilizers containing nitrogen. If spilled, these materials can cause corrosive damage to the moving van, so most moving companies will not accept them. This is the same reason why even the best moving companies won’t move cleaning products such as bleach or ammonia.
While moving a potted plant is unlikely to cause an ecological disaster or moving injury, most moving companies prefer to avoid the risk. If you have any house plants, pesticides, or other organic matter that you can’t leave behind, take it with you in your car when you move.
Perishable Foods
Moving companies will not move perishable food items because they have no way of keeping the food cold during transportation. This means that your frozen chicken and milk are unlikely to be safe for consumption when your shipment makes it to your new home. Rather than risk someone getting sick, moving companies will only agree to move non-perishable food items that can safely remain in a truck for days on end.
Pets
If you’ve ever moved in the past, you probably already know that moves can take a long time and get rough. While the best moving companies can arrange pet transportation services on your behalf, most moving companies do not have the necessary facilities to move pets.
Why Don’t Moving Companies Move Certain Items?
The biggest reason moving companies won’t move certain items is due to safety concerns.
Items May Be Hazardous
For example, flammable items or highly pressurized items like scuba tanks present a safety hazard to the moving team in a collision. Movers similarly won’t handle oxygen tanks, solvents, acids, and some household cleaning supplies.
Your Belongings May Be Perishable
Not every item that movers will not move presents a safety hazard, however. Movers won’t move perishable items, including frozen foods, because they don’t want to risk the items damaging your shipment. Moving some houseplants can conflict with the National Plant Board’s recommendations, so most moving companies also refuse to move live plants.
Items Might Present a Liability
Moving companies have the final call on whether they will or won’t move an item, which leaves a bit of a gray area regarding what you can’t pack. For example, while it is not against the law to transport an unloaded firearm across state lines, some movers still refuse to move these items because they do not want to risk an injury. Ask your moving company for more information on specific items they will not move.
You should plan to keep any valuables or items with sentimental value with you when you move. Moving companies do not want to be responsible for high-value items being damaged in accidents. They typically require that you take important documents with you when going to your new home. Separate family heirlooms, expensive jewelry, medical records, photo albums, and other important items before moving.
What Other Things Won’t Moving Companies Move?
Other items that your moving company might refuse to move include the following:
- Antiques
- Fireworks
- Gardening tools and lawnmowers without emptied gas tanks
- Grill and barbeque supplies and tools
- High-value items
- Lighter fluid and motor oil
- Liquor, wine, and beer
Your movers can provide you with a complete list of hazardous or dangerous items they won’t move.
What Do Moving Companies Move?
Moving companies can transport almost any household object. Some of the most common items movers handle include the following:
- Books
- Clothing
- Files and large boxes of paperwork
- Furniture
- Musical instruments
- Small and major appliances
Most people hire a professional moving company to move things that are a hassle to relocate without help. Whether you have a lot of bulky furniture or you just don’t have the time to plan a DIY move, local and cross-country movers will be able to transport almost all of your belongings.
Alternatives for Moving Prohibited Items
If you have a few items that your movers won’t take, you have plenty of options for getting rid of them before your move. Perishable food items are not worth moving when you consider the valuable moving van space they take up—consider donating to a local food bank so it doesn’t go to waste. Further, local homeless and domestic violence shelters are always looking for unopened, non-perishable cleaning supplies.
Quick Tip
- Avoid moving items that could be dangerous if you’re involved in an accident on the road, such as lighter fluid or propane tanks. Dispose of these materials and any electronic waste, including car batteries and old cell phones, at your local hazardous waste facility.
Our Conclusion
Most moving companies can transport your essential belongings, such as your furniture, electronics, clothing, appliances, and more. However, they may refuse to move certain items that pose safety risks, such as pressurized canisters, flammable materials, corrosive liquids (including bleach and ammonia), plants, animals, and more.
The best way to know what your moving company won’t move is to ask before you book. That way, you’ll have ample time to arrange alternate transportation for these items, dispose of them, or donate them to local charities.
FAQ About Things Moving Companies Won’t Move
What items do movers not move?
Movers will not move any items that have the potential to catch fire or explode during the transportation process. For example, movers will not move aerosol cans because they can explode in an accident and harm a driver. Movers also won’t move highly valuable items and some living things, such as plants and pets.
What cannot be moved in a moving truck?
You cannot move aerosol cans, hazardous materials, electronic waste, cleaning supplies, pets, and plants in a moving truck. To avoid liability-related risks, some movers may refuse to move items like expensive jewelry, firearms, and liquor. Ask the company renting or issuing your moving truck about what items you can’t safely load before your moving date arrives.
Do movers move everything?
No, movers will not move everything. If an item could hurt the mover during loading or transportation, you’ll need to leave it behind when you move or move it on your own. You’ll also need to make arrangements for plants, animals, and valuable items you want to move with, as movers won’t accept these items.
Will movers move toiletries?
Moving companies can move items such as shampoo, eye creams, feminine hygiene pads, and other toiletries that are not used for cleaning. Some moving companies will not move items containing nitrogen, which is a common ingredient in household cleaning products. Flammable items, such as nail polish remover, and contents under pressure, such as hairspray, are commonly prohibited.
